The Cincinnati Bengals are a struggling team in the midst of a four-game losing streak, which has sucked the excitement out of their 2-0 start to the 2025 season. However, superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is still rolling along and becoming an increasingly vocal leader despite a turbulent quarterback depth chart.
Chase enters Week 7's Thursday night tilt with the Steelers in the NFL's top five in receptions and receiving yards. Whether it's been Joe Burrow, Jake Browning, or now Joe Flacco, the reigning Triple Crown wideout is producing to his typical elite standard.
But perhaps Chase's blend of freakish athleticism and exotic skill set could be used in other ways to spark the offense. Perhaps beneath the center?
Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase *could* play QB, but doesn't want to
For all the criticism of the Bengals offense — warranted considering they rank only second-worst to the Titans in total yards per game — Zac Taylor may want to consider groundbreaking ways to get Chase even more touches.
What better way than to put him at a position where he touches the ball every play? One reporter asked Chase whether he could play quarterback, and his answer was equal parts ha-ha funny and ha-ha peculiar, thanks to his implication that he has a high-enough football IQ to do it in a pinch.
😂 @Real10jayy__ doesn’t have an interest in playing QB
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 15, 2025
(via @Bengals) pic.twitter.com/3vGNpMUTtK
"I mean I know it. I can. [...] I don't want to play quarterback, let me say that! But I can tell guys, you here, here, here, and here. But I do not want to play quarterback, no."
Why would Chase want to play quarterback, when under normal circumstances, he has one of the best in the planet at the position in Burrow?
I don't know, though, given how bad Cincinnati's rushing attack has been all year, would it be the worst idea to get Chase back there in a Wildcat-style formation? I say no.
Chase only has two carries for six yards this season. While he's a great wide receiver (thank you, Captain Obvious), his ability to rack up yards after catch in the open field would make him a dangerous ball-carrier, whether he lined up at QB or in the backfield.
Beyond the ridiculous physical gifts Chase possesses and the craft to back those up at his position of choice, he is a very cerebral player. To be on the same page as Burrow to the degree that he is shows just how much Chase knows the ins and outs of football schematics beyond the instinctive ESP the Bengals' most lethal duo seems to have.
Think about it. Chase has to be in lockstep with Burrow (now Flacco) on sight adjusts, knowing when to look for hot reads, and how to know the type of throw coming in based on the coverage and defensive back(s) leverage. He also has to know how to play all three wide receiver positions so he can move around when Cincinnati goes to empty formations and 11 personnel sets.
Whether he has the throwing chops to layer the ball on intermediate throws when it's required, or make the right reads from the pocket, that's kind of irrelevant. I think an uber-smart, ultra dual-threat would-be QB like Chase could figure it out.
Hopefully us Bengals fans never reach the point where we have to find out for sure!